In the midst of my excitement for Woman on Fire Sophfronia Scott to launch her Fearless Fridays telesummit last week, I came front-and-center with my own fears.
Darn! Wouldn’t you know it? I thought I had this beast under control.
After all, I am a co-author with Donald Trump, Jack Canfield and other amazingly successful people in Sophfronia’s brand-new book How The Fierce Handle Fear. In my career, I’ve coached thousands of people, always ever-ready with tips, tricks and techniques to help them vanquish their fears – and stay on top of my own.
But for a few long hours one day last week, fear grabbed me by the shoulders and ran the show. I was working on plans for the upcoming Women on Fire Retreat in Chicago. A million details to create the outstanding event I dream of for you stared me down, and I got so scared worrying that I couldn’t possibly handle everything that needs attention.
It was not a pretty picture. I was so unnerved and panicked that I couldn’t even cry (then I could at least feel some relief!)
My poor husband. What a saint. He comforted me. But it really was up to me to find a way to release the grip fear and overwhelm had over me.
Here’s what I ended up doing:
• I sat myself down and got quiet. (Choosing to do this instead of running around like a crazy person was harder than I would have thought.)
• I began to pay attention to my breath…following it down my back and up my front as my yoga teachers Mary Jo Ruggieri and MJ Bindu Delekta taught me. (Still tough because I wanted to get up and run or scream.)
• Then, I gave myself just three minutes to write fast and furiously in my journal whatever came to mind (I won’t be sharing that!)
• After that, I wrote quickly for several more minutes what I was grateful for…and the list was long. (I started to feel some relief.)
• Then, I turned to the giant Post-It® note hanging on my wall that announces the name of every precious woman so far registered to attend the retreat. I took in each and every name and envisioned her shining face. (My heart began to melt. I could once again feel centered and even excited.)
• An hour later, I listened to Sophfronia’s interview with another co-author on the “Fear” book, a passionate man and self-described real estate maverick, Frank McKinney. “I’m afraid every day!” he told Sophfronia. “We are not afraid of the unknown, because we don’t even know what the unknown is,” he said. “We fear leaving the comfort zone.”
Oh, yeah, that resonated. That was the problem. In the face of fulfilling my own dreams and vision, necessary for me to grow and move forward, I must leave my comfort zone. Frank further urged that we must “exercise our risk threshold” like a muscle in order to grow stronger.
Thank you, Frank and Sophfronia. I am back to feeling strong and confident, my “risk” muscle well-exercised!
I hope you will join me this week as Sophfronia’s Fearless Fridays telesummit continues. You can register for this free teleclass here. She will be interviewing me at 2PM EST Friday, March 19 and my topic?
“Dear Fear: Adios. Au revoir. Goodbye. — 5 Ways To Send What Scares You Packing!”
See you there! If you have any good tips on managing your own fears, please share with us in the comments section below. I’d love to hear how you face fear…
